The war continued until July. Xiao Du saw that the flood season had arrived and the water level in the moat had risen sharply, making it difficult for the Black Cavalry to enter. He simply led his army to defend the city and developed new poisons while discussing strategies with other generals to defeat the enemy. The continuous rain washed away the mottled blood on the city walls and made the mountain roads muddy. One day, Xiao Du walked out of the barracks and looked at the stream formed by the rain rushing down from a high place. Suddenly, he came up with a plan and quickly ordered someone to invite Luo Yuan to the general's mansion for discussion.

When Luo Yuan heard about Xiao Du's plan, he thought it was very feasible, so he found a book that recorded weather. The two of them discussed the topographic map all night and finally came up with a complete strategy.

Five days later, the Black Cavalry, who had been holding back their anger outside the city, finally received the news that Marquis Xuanyuan was about to lead his troops to fight. The entire army was on emergency alert, but also eagerly looking forward to a battle with the Xiao family army. The chief general of the State of Wei, Dian Liang, led the main force of the Black Cavalry to camp in Yuning Mountain, attempting to set an ambush in the steep mountain terrain to gain the upper hand.

In front of the city gate, 20,000 Xiao family soldiers, dressed in iron armor and cold clothes, lined up neatly, waiting for the commander's order, eager to tear the enemy's chest apart and reclaim the plundered territory. Xiao Du stood on the city tower, his purple war cape fluttering in the wind, while Luo Yuan, still in his blue shirt, bowed with a smile and said, "I wish you a great victory in the expedition. If we can really inflict heavy damage on the main force of the Black Cavalry at the lowest cost this time, we will be one step closer to the final victory."

Xiao Du looked down at the high-spirited soldiers outside the city. Their shiny armor shone silvery under the sunlight, and his hot blood began to boil again: One day, I will bring them back every blade of grass and every tree that has been trampled by the iron hooves of foreigners.

Luo Yuan looked at the heroic spirit surging from him with envy. Suddenly, he took another step forward and whispered, "If the Marquis wins this battle, he should pass through Yunchong Mountain on his way back to the city. I have asked someone to inquire about the miracle doctor I mentioned to the Marquis last time, and it turns out that he lives in Yunchong Mountain."

Xiao Du was moved when he heard this. Yuan Xi seemed to no longer care about her body in the past year, but he knew that she wanted to have a child. If the legendary doctor could really cure Yuan Xi's illness, it would be great. So he nodded and kept this matter in his heart.

The drums of the army were beating, and it was only a moment's time before the expedition. Xiao Du was about to walk down the tower when he caught a glimpse of Luo Yuan's blue shirt, which had turned white and was loosely covering his increasingly emaciated body. Thinking of how Luo Yuan had been working hard for military affairs in Pingdu Pass and had hardly rested for a moment, Xiao Du lowered his head and pondered, and suddenly said, "Wen Qian, I asked you before, but you didn't answer me, why did you help me? If you stayed in the court, you would have a bright future waiting for you. But you were willing to come to this bitter and cold border in the northwest and risk your life for me, who was living from day to day."

Luo Yuan looked at the flags waving in the distance with a deep look in his eyes. "I was born in Jingnan, a small border town that has seen many wars."

The drums of war outside the city were beating faster and faster, but Xiao Du was still staring at him quietly, waiting for him to continue. Luo Yuan followed him as he walked down and said, "When I was eight years old, Jiatong Pass was lost, and the South Vietnamese rushed into the city to burn and loot. I saw with my own eyes that my parents were stabbed to death by two South Vietnamese soldiers." He closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. For the first time, a deep hatred appeared on his usually elegant face. When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to have escaped from the long-lasting war, and continued, "The generals defending the city at that time When the leader saw the enemy troops entering the city, he immediately abandoned the city and fled, and the people in the city were killed. I remember hiding in the chaos, but was finally discovered by a South Vietnamese soldier. Just when he was about to chop me with his sword, a general rushed to save me. Then a large army rushed into the city and fought the South Vietnamese. I was held on the horse by the general, and in the chaos, I only saw the banner with the word "Xiao" written on it. "

After hearing this, Xiao Du understood the situation and asked, "What was the name of the general who saved you? Did you see him again later?" Luo Yuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "He put me in a safe place and returned to the army to continue leading the troops to fight. I didn't have the time to ask his name, and I never saw him again later."

After several decades, perhaps the white-robed generals of that time have already retired or are on the battlefield. But the banner with the word "Xiao" on it is deeply engraved in the heart of a child. He remembers how the soldiers holding the banner with the word "Xiao" killed the enemy without caring about their lives and saved the people of the city from the water and fire. From then on, he studied hard, traveled far and wide, and passed the imperial examination, just to stand among those soldiers and save more children from the war. This is his lifelong ambition.

Xiao Du looked at Luo Yuan's resolute expression, pressed his shoulder hard, and said, "Wen Qian is indeed a true gentleman. With your help, the Xiao family army will surely return victorious." The two smiled at each other, and each saw gratitude and commitment in the other's eyes. Xiao Du walked to the front of the battle formation, jumped on his horse, and led 20,000 soldiers to the outside of the city to the sound of the drums.

In July of the sixth year of Jianping, Xiao Du led only 20,000 soldiers of the Xiao Family Army to fight against the 50,000 elite soldiers of the Black Cavalry. The two sides fought for several days at the foot of Yu Ning Mountain. Xiao Du pretended to be defeated and retreated step by step, leading the main force of the Black Cavalry to Huanglong Valley. Then he sent a team of light cavalry to dig open the dam upstream of Baifeng River, open the embankment and release the flood directly into Huanglong Valley, instantly trapping the Black Cavalry in the flood. Then Xiao Du led bows and arrows and the Flying Star Crossbow with doubled range to pursue from the mountain. In this battle, the main force of the Black Cavalry was almost completely destroyed, and only 5,000 people fled in panic. The casualties of the Xiao Family Army were less than 1,000 people, which was known in history as the "Huanglong Victory".

After the battle of Huanglong Valley, the morale of Xiao's army was greatly boosted. Xiao Du saw that the Black Cavalry had suffered heavy losses and would not be able to recover in a short time, so he ordered his soldiers to camp at the foot of Yunchong Mountain first. He temporarily handed the seal of command to a deputy general with sufficient combat experience beside him, and ordered him to lead the troops to wait for him at the foot of the mountain for a day. If there was an emergency, they could respond accordingly without waiting for his order.

Afterwards, he climbed up the Yunchong Mountain alone without any personal soldiers. The Yunchong Mountain was steep and sparsely populated. Xiao Du climbed up while cutting the vines around him. Unexpectedly, when he reached halfway up the mountain, he suddenly heard a girl's scream. He hurriedly took a few steps forward, pulled aside the vines, and saw a man in rough clothes pressing a girl in white with a fierce look on his face.

Xiao Du frowned, and almost subconsciously stood up and waved his sword to drive the man away. The girl raised her head in shock, with waves in her big eyes. Her messy hair and face covered with dirt could not hide her stunning beauty. She lowered her head and hurriedly tidied her torn clothes, and then knelt down to Xiao Du with a thousand thanks. Xiao Du waved his hand to stop her and asked, "Excuse me, there is a miracle doctor living on this mountain. Do you know where he lives?"

The girl widened her eyes in surprise, then lowered her head and twirled the corner of her clothes and said softly, "Are you...looking for my master?"

Xiao Du was overjoyed when he heard this. He asked carefully and found out that the doctor's surname was Cui Yuan and he had been living in a small courtyard on the mountain. The girl's name was A Yue, and she was actually a slave girl in the doctor's family. She usually picked herbs for him in the mountains. Who would have thought that she would run into a bandit with bad intentions today? Fortunately, Xiao Du ran into her and saved her.

So Xiao Du followed the girl to the courtyard where Cui Yuan lived. The courtyard was surrounded by running water, and the flowers and plants in the garden were flourishing. There were also some herbs that Xiao Du could not recognize. It looked like a paradise. Ah Yue asked him to wait outside the house, and she went in to pass on the message. After a while, she ran out happily and said, "The master said thank you for saving me and let you come in to talk."

Xiao Du then lifted his robe and walked in. There was a man sitting in the hall, with a white beard and long robe, thin and vigorous, looking a bit like an immortal. Ah Yue led Xiao Du in, then took off the medicine basket on her body and put it aside. Cui Yuan stared at Xiao Du without looking away and said, "You are the one who saved Ah Yue?"

Xiao Du nodded, bowed respectfully to Cui Yuan, and said, "I am Xiao Du. I have heard of the miraculous doctor's reputation early in the morning. My wife is seriously ill, so I came here today to ask the miraculous doctor to come out and treat her."

Cui Yuan twirled his beard and said: "I have lived in seclusion for many years and have stopped treating patients for a long time. However, because of your sincerity and saving Ah Yue, please sit down and talk first."

Xiao Du sat down as he was told. Cui Yuan asked Ah Yue to serve him a cup of tea. He also picked up the teacup, took a sip and said, "In recent years, many people have come to the mountain to seek medical treatment, but I have always driven them away. Tell me, what is your reason for me to come out of the mountain?"

Xiao Du smiled slightly, picked up the teacup and put it to his nose, saying, "This tea has a special aroma. I have never smelled it before, but it was secretly made by Dr. Cui."

Cui Yuan showed a proud look on his face and said, "You have good taste. This tea is called Yi Xi Xiang. I planted it myself in my yard. Even if ordinary people beg me for it, I will not give it to them."

Xiao Du laughed out loud and said, "It seems that I am really satisfied today." Then he raised his teacup and drank it all.

Cui Yuan's eyes suddenly flashed when he raised the teacup, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him drink all the tea. However, A Yue beside him rubbed her hands nervously, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Xiao Du put down his teacup leisurely, looked at Cui Yuan and said, "How is it? What does Dr. Cui think? When will he come down the mountain to treat my wife?"

Cui Yuan showed a look of contempt on his face, and his posture began to relax. He said, "I told you that I will not come out of the mountain to see patients again. You should stop talking nonsense and go down the mountain as soon as possible."

Xiao Du had a meaningful look on his face, staring at Cui Yuan and asked, "Why is it that the performance of Dr. Cui has come to an end so soon?"

Cui Yuan's face changed greatly. When he looked up again, Xiao Du was standing beside him, with the short knife in his hand already unsheathed. The cold light from the knife made his heart shrink suddenly. However, Xiao Du did not approach him again, but continued to play with the handle of the knife and said, "You really pretended very well, but it's a pity that you made three mistakes since I came in."

Cui Yuan wiped the sweat from his head, not daring to face the overwhelming pressure, but still reluctantly replied: "I don't understand what you are talking about."

Xiao Du, however, did not take it seriously. He smiled and pointed at the herbs on the ground, saying, "First of all, a person obsessed with medicine would not ignore the herbs he had just picked. But since Ah Yue came back, you have not even looked at them. Second," he looked at Cui Yuan's hands and continued, "your hands are not stable enough. I saw that your hands shook a little when you picked up the teacup. If you were a doctor, how could you give acupuncture to the patient? Third, you put three fingers on the table before serving the tea. Although it was only for a short moment, I saw it. This is the custom of poor people to thank God before eating. Habits cannot be faked. So, you are a poor person, right!"

Cui Yuan was terrified. Only then did he realize that the man did not fall down as he had imagined. He took a few steps back and exclaimed, "Why... why didn't you..."

Who knew that a flash of cold light appeared in front of him, and Xiao Du's dagger was already on his neck. He seemed to have no patience to tease him anymore, and said in a sharp voice: "Do you think I would be stupid enough to really drink that cup of tea? Tell me, who sent you here? Where is the real Dr. Cui?"

Cui Yuan was about to speak when a dart suddenly shot through his throat. Xiao Du frowned. He had been paying attention to his surroundings when he came in. He thought that the other party was afraid that he would be suspicious and did not dare to set an ambush outside the house. Could it be that those people came over so quickly?

At this moment, he found Ah Yue squatting on the ground, shivering, staring at him with a terrified look and trembling: "Gunpowder... There is gunpowder!"

Xiao Du was horrified. Before he could react, he heard a huge roar from outside the house: someone had buried gunpowder on the mountain, and a landslide would soon erupt. Xiao Du broke out in a cold sweat. This was almost the most critical moment in his life. He was about to run out without thinking, but Ah Yue grabbed his sleeve and cried, "Please, save me and get out together..."

At the same time, inside Pingdu Pass, a lieutenant looked at the faint green smoke rising in the distance, raised his lips and walked into a tent. A few hours later, several generals left behind by the Xiao family army were called to the main tent of Yue Kewei, the former lieutenant general of Youzhou and Fuzhou. Yue Kewei was the deputy commander and accompanied Xiao Du to guard Pingdu Pass. He was always cautious in his words and deeds and never stood out. This sudden change made those generals a little confused.

All the generals and lieutenants who came this time were those who had followed Xiao Du for many years. Yue Kewei glanced at the court and suddenly shouted, "Come on, take them all down!" Those people were immediately shocked. At this time, the right general Zheng Long stood up and said arrogantly, "What qualifications do you have to take people down? Except for the Marquis, no one else can touch us!"

Yue Kewei snorted, took out a piece of yellow silk, unfolded it and said, "You dare to disobey His Majesty's order!"